THE MACKEITH FAMILY AT KILMICHAEL
Eric R Cregeen
The following field-notes, of a visit to Kilmichael Farm, Carradale, on 1 August, 1967, to interview the MacKeith family, appear courtesy of Mrs Lily Cregeen. The manuscript was found in a folder belonging to her late husband, who was, until his death in 1983, a member of staff of The School of Scottish Studies, University of Edinburgh. That visit was repeated on 12 March, 1968, when Eric was accompanied by the late Donald Archie MacDonald, a Gaelic-speaking member of staff. Excerpts from that later - and briefer - record are appended to the main article. Of Eric’s working methods, Mrs Cregeen remarks: ‘These notes are so characteristic of Eric, in content and in the thorough construction. He would go somewhere quiet as soon as ever he left an informant and would write up everything while it was fresh in his mind.’
I hope that we may have the privilege of publishing further such field-notes, which so deftly convey a way of living and a vestigial culture which are just thirty-odd years by. I had, myself, incidentally, the pleasure of tape-recording Duncan and John MacKeith in 1977, by which time they were retired in Saddell village and their sisters dead. Editor
A warm Sunday afternoon, & all the MacKeith family at home resting in the sitting-room - Duncan, aged over 80, John his younger brother, the oldest sister (extremely aged, with blue remote eyes) & a younger sister, with a niece who keeps house for them. I was shown in by a middle-aged man, probably their farm-hand, who said it was time they were roused if they were asleep. I had been before, about 10 years ago, when Naomi Mitchison introduced me, & they remembered this, but they only placed me properly when I spoke of my connection with the Ifferdale family [of Gemmells]. For some years my wife & her mother were neighbours of the MacKeiths when they lived at Rhonadale.
Since my last visit there has been a major change. The old house they lived in then is still extant (I think perhaps the farm-worker lives there) but the MacKeiths live in a modern whitewashed bungalow next to it. There is a stiff cart by the byre but they have no horses & use a tractor.
Our conversation lasted about two hours, & as it was my first visit for many years I did not pursue my enquiries fully, but as we talked, all the family one by one was drawn in - first Duncan and John only, then an occasional interjection from the old lady, who finally began to reminisce with an unlooked for animation, then the niece & even the very quiet & shy younger sister. So all four of the older generation were at last brought into the conversation about old times, all aged between 80 & perhaps 90.
They were brought up speaking Gaelic in the home but now they do not use it commonly. ‘I’m ashamed,’ said Duncan, ‘when I meet a real Gaelic-speaker nowadays.’ He is over 80, but sound of limb & active, & he works on the farm.
They were not, Duncan said, a native Kintyre family, but came from Aberdeenshire. I asked when they arrived, & he answered - after Culloden his ancestor (he said his great-great grandfather, I think) fled to Kintyre. Another of the family fled to France. Some years ago, he said, there was a letter in a paper enquiring if any of the family survived & he wrote in answer, but didn’t post it. ‘He got cold feet,’ his niece said with a laugh. ‘I think the Mac- was added to the name when they came to Kintyre,’ Duncan said.
This tradition of their coming to Kintyre is not left hanging in the air. When I questioned them about the local place-names, it was John, the rather younger brother, who seemed best-informed. Duncan said they didn’t really know the old place-names about Kilmichael, and the old lady said no, they were more familiar with the names at Sunadale - every hillock and rock had a name. They were brought up at Sunadale ... north of Grogport ... Originally the first MacKeith had come to Grianan. Then the family had moved to Arnicle. Later they had Garvailt & Sunadale, &, as he declined, his great-grandfather gave up Garvailt and kept only Sunadale. These farms were on the estate of Macalister of Barr. (I think this would be a Jacobite family - hence his ancestor would find a safe refuge.)
When we were talking about diseases that were prevalent at one time, the old lady spoke of a grandmother of D------ S----- who died of diphtheria at Rhonadale, & then said, ‘But of course they weren’t Highlanders.’ Clearly the MacKeiths distinguished the old Gaelic-speaking Highlanders and the Lowland stock.
As the subject of milking came up, I told a story about the evil-eye. They smiled & agreed that this is no longer believed in, but their parents’ generation held such beliefs. They had heard their father speak of the practice of heating needles in a pan of milk to bring the person with the evil eye to the door. It was something that he had known practised, but they had not.
A man they knew at Skipness named Wilson had been credited with supernatural knowledge. He was disliked. He had a birch brush at the door and was credited with knowledge [of] what sort of fishing there was at Carradale without being there.
Much of the rest of our conversation was general - farming, weather, Carradale people, etc. (They remembered Carradale when it consisted only of a few houses at Airds.) A few place-names, e.g. the big stone near Crossaig which I mentioned as being by the side of the road & as a place of resort locally was A’ chreag ghlas.
The niece came in with a tray of tea & short-cake etc. Then John went out to milk, & when I left, Duncan went to feed the calves. He accompanied me to the car & bade me come again most courteously. The old lady too had pressed me to return. ‘It’s open house to any one who calls,’ she said. They have the kindliness & politeness & quiet dignity one associates with traditional country people. As we talked before I left, Duncan said that if the old people were to come back & see all the things we have, they would be astonished, but they were more contented & helped one another more, he said.
12 March, 1968. The two brothers were working outside. Duncan, aged 87, was ploughing in the tractor, and John, about 83, was in the byre. After some conversation with John, who apologised for not being fluent in Gaelic, we went inside and spoke with the two sisters and the niece, Peggy Mitchell. The older sister, Annabelle, is 91. She looked much better than she did last summer and was very alert. She has a wonderful face, with light blue kindly eyes. The younger sister, Ann, will perhaps be 80.
Then we were joined by the two brothers and had a general conversation in English, for it appeared difficult for them to continue a conversation in Gaelic. They were purely Gaelic-speaking in their childhood. Both parents were from Kintyre. Duncan said that Marischal Keith was his father’s great-uncle. Annabelle was christened Keith, the others MacKeith ... A sister married, and they had a brother who went to Canada, but the four of them remained unmarried ... We were given tea and home-made scones and Donald poured the men large whiskies. They accepted the dram, saying this was a true Highland custom. The women did not accept as they said whisky did not agree with them.
No 50 Autumn 2001
Wee Drams E-mails, comments, queries and enlightenment from around the world
Page 2: A History of the Gilchrists...............continued
Page 3: E-mails - Machrihanish and Fessenden
Page 4: The Kintyre Armours - A New Approach to the First Generation
Page 5: The Campbeltown Book - You must look at this!
Page 6: The MacKeith Family at Kilmichael
Page 7: By Hill and Shore - Angus Martin
Page 8: The Rev. Alexander Stewart (1755 - 1798)